The Story of How Alewives Became Witches in the 15th Century

(Austin, Texas) - Stories of witches have been around since biblical times. These were women who had mystical powers to seduce, heal or cast spells. But most of these stories were just that, stories, or myths, passed down over the centuries.

What's interesting is that the origin story of witches has nothing to do with Halloween, potions or spells. The origin has everything to do with making beer. This was how women of the 14th and 15th century earned a living.

The Origin of Witches

Before the Spanish Inquisition of the 14th and 15th century, women took care of the home while the men were away fighting or hunting (alltheswirl.com). That included caring for the children, cooking and even working to earn some money. One way these women earned money was by brewing ale or beer. These women were known as alewives and could be married or widowed.

These alewives would wear tall and pointed black hats so they would stand out in a crowd and let people know they were selling ale (ancient-origins.net). They also kept cats around their home to keep rodents from eating their grain. They would brew their ale in black cauldrons and placed a broom outside their home to also let people know they had ale.

I think you see the connection to what we see on Halloween.

But, as men did in that time, they saw the money these alewives made by selling their ale (brewhoppin.com). Men began taking the practice from women. You have to remember that in those days, knowledge of how things work was nowhere near what we have today.

Men would get drunk and become uncontrollable. In those days, that meant they had consumed some kind of potion, or witches brew. So, as men took over the brewing process, women who still did it were considered some kind of witch.